Preparation and selective laser sintering of a new nylon elastomer powder
ISSN: 1355-2546
Article publication date: 1 October 2018
Issue publication date: 15 October 2018
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to report the preparation, selective laser sintering (SLS) processing and properties of a new nylon elastomer powder. The effects of solvent, dissolution temperature and time and cooling method and speed on the particle size and morphologies of the prepared nylon elastomer powder are investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
The prepared nylon elastomer power possesses the particle size of around 50 mm and is spherical in shape, indicating that this study provides the feasible dissolution-precipitation process, a distillation cooling method and a suitable solvent to prepare nylon elastomer powders.
Findings
Compared to pure nylon 12, the nylon elastomer has a lower part bed temperature and a wider sintering window for the SLS process. The wider sintering window indicates the better SLS processibility. The lower part bed temperature is beneficial to the recycling of material and the decrease in the requirement of SLS equipment.
Originality/value
The nylon elastomer in this study has a lower part bed temperature and a wider sintering window for the SLS process. The wider sintering window indicates better SLS processibility. The lower part bed temperature is beneficial to the recycling of material and the decrease in the requirement of SLS equipment.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The study was supported by the Guangdong Innovative and Entrepreneurial Research Team Program (NO.2013C071), the Special Fund of Technology Innovation from Hubei Province (No. 2017AAA109) and Wuhan International Collaboration Project (No. 2017030209020252). The authors would also like to thank the Analysis and Testing Center of Huazhong University of Science and Technology for the various measurements.
Citation
Shi, Y., Zhu, W., Yan, C., Yang, J. and Xia, Z. (2018), "Preparation and selective laser sintering of a new nylon elastomer powder", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 24 No. 6, pp. 1026-1033. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-11-2017-0223
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited